Archive for the tag “Liz Jensen”

Today we’re looking for books you really wanted to love – but didn’t. And books you expected to loathe – but didn’t. These are the top ten books I though I’d like more (or less) than I did.

Because no. I read Wuthering Heights thinking “Really? THIS is a classic romance??” Huge let down given how widely this gothic novel is worshiped.

I know this keeps coming up on my lists! But really. Given the cover and the slew of vampire fiction available when VAcademy was released, I grabbed it as another waste-of-a-couple-of-hours read. And since then I (evidently) can’t shut up about how fantastic the series and Richelle Mead in general are. (PS – keep an eye out for my review of Gameboard of the Gods. This book is gonna be BIG. Because it’s amazing.)

I have nothing against My Life Next Door – it was a perfectly nice coming of age YA romance. But that’s all. It didn’t stand out at all for me. And with the hype I’d been hearing about it, I really expected it to.

On the other hand, The Rosie Project seemed like a silly romantic-comedy-in-a-book. But it was so much more! Smart, funny and a gorgeous read.

Ugh. I was deeply unimpressed by Throne of Glass – and I realise I’m in the minority here. Caelena didn’t grab me at all, and the plot was confused by too many angles. I don’t get the hype.

Whereas The Peculiar, a steampunk faerie novel set in 1920s London, was SO GOOD. I couldn’t have anticipated how much I’d love this unassuming story. Read it read it read it!

Yeah. I liked this crime novel a lot – until it devolved into a mystic, paranormal thriller halfway through with no warning. Pick your market.

Holy up-until-3am read, Batman! This book is the definition of an addictive read. I completely drowned out the voice that tells you to go to sleep in favour of finishing Revolution as fast as possible. An engrossing story, and beautifully written.

Look, The Book Thief was okay. It was good, even. But it’s never been one of those books that changed everything for me, and it is to so many other people I’ve talked to.

You know what? If you’re looking for an intelligent, creepy, taut crime novel, don’t be as surprised as I was when you have a ball with Promise. It’s the best crime I read in 2012. (And the sequel’s no slouch, either!)

Friends, readers, tell me, share with me those books that let you down, or the ones that yanked you up with a WOAH!

This intriguing new crime novel caught my eye at work: children inexplicably start killing their parents, before lapsing into a passive, fugue state and not recalling the murders. Creepy, interesting premise. Here’s my take on the follow through:

Hesketh Lock is an anthropologist by trade, brilliant at identifying patterns both in nature and in people, which makes him an excellent investigator for Phipps & Wexman. Currently, he’s working on uncovering the links between a series of corporate sabotages carried out by seemingly loyal employees, in dozens of unrelated companies all over the world. Add these strange occurrences to the outbreak of child murders and Hesketh is sure there’s a bigger, more dangerous pattern emerging – the implications of which may be felt for generations to come.

This novel has a compelling and creepy central mystery – is it just me, or are murderous children more frightening than their grown up counterparts? Hesketh, our protagonist, is an absolutely wonderful character. He has Asperger’s syndrome, and provides the reader with a unique perspective not only on his inner thought processes but also on the world through his eyes. I loved Hesketh for his incredibly unique and yet surprisingly relatable personality. The Creepy Continues: